Providing a Child Safe Environment
Our service has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that the rights and best interests of the child are paramount and that we will provide training, resources, information and guidance to support this in order to:
ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of children at the service is protected at all times;
ensure that people educating and caring for children at the service act in the best interests of the child;
advocate and protect the rights of all children to feel safe, and be safe, at all times;
maintain a culture in which children’s rights are respected;
encourage active participation from families at the service, support a partnership approach and shared responsibility for children’s health, safety, wellbeing and development.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Our education and care service recognises and respects the importance of privacy and confidentiality as an individual right and a basis for building partnerships. Our service requires personal information from families to provide appropriate and responsive care. This policy has been developed to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) (2014) and pursues the highest standard in the protection and preservation of privacy and confidentiality.
Participation of Volunteers and Students
Our service is committed to providing a safe environment for all children where their health, safety and wellbeing is of paramount importance. In order to ensure this is preserved during the engagement of student and volunteers, and in order to remain compliant with regulations and legislation, the service will abide by the strategies and practices outlined in this policy.
Nutrition, Food, Beverages and Dietary Requirements
This policy concerns the provision of healthy food and drink while children are in care and the promotion of normal growth and development.
The service is committed to implementing the healthy eating key messages outlined in Munch & Move and to supporting the National Healthy Eating Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings as outlined in the Get Up & Grow resources.
Further, we recognise the importance of supporting families in providing healthy food and drink to their children. It is acknowledged that the early childhood setting has an important role in supporting families in healthy eating.
Nutrition, Food, Beverages and Dietary Requirements May 2025
Interactions with Children
A positive atmosphere and the wellbeing of children within our education and care setting is promoted through responsive care and quality interactions with children. Children’s development and social relationships are enriched through thoughtful and sophisticated approaches to conversation, discussion and promotion of children’s language and communication. Children who experience relationships which are built on respect, fairness, cooperation and empathy are given the opportunity to develop these qualities themselves. When children have positive interactions with others, they develop an understanding of themselves as significant and respected, and feel a sense of belonging.
Educators at our service will:
Respect family and cultural values;
be responsive to children’s strengths, interests and abilities;
encourage children to express themselves and their opinions;
provide opportunities for children to become self-reliant and develop self-esteem;
uphold children’s dignity, rights and agency;
provide positive and strength-based behaviour support;
promote a safe, secure and nurturing environment;
be authentic and responsive;
act in ways based in fairness, acceptance and empathy, with respect for cultural and linguistic rights, as well as the rights of people with differing needs and capabilities.
ensure children have opportunities to interact and develop respectful and positive relationships with each other and with educators, staff, and volunteers. In providing these opportunities, the size and composition of groups of children must be considered.
Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness
The National Regulations require an accurate Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Report to be kept and stored confidentially until the child is 25 years old.
Under the national legislation, an education and care service must record details in the Incident, Injury, Trauma and Illness Report for the following occurrences:
an incident in relation to a child,
an injury received by a child
trauma to which a child has been subjected
an illness that becomes apparent.
Safe and responsible use of digital devices Policy
In today’s digitally connected world, the safe and responsible use of digital technologies in early childhood education and care is paramount. This policy outlines our Centre’s commitment to the safety and well-being of children in our care.
The most important considerations for staff, educators, students and volunteers using our Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and/or digital devices are:
• Supporting the implementation of child-safe practices when using ICT and/or digital devices to capture images or videos of children enrolled in early education and care services.
• Increasing awareness of staff, educators, students, volunteers, and families about safety risks associated with using electronic devices at our Centre and implementing strategies to support child safety.
• Implementing child-safe practices regarding the use of electronic devices across our service to prepare for the potential regulatory changes predicted by the Education and Care Services National Law 2010, in line with the National Model Code in response to the Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the NQF.
Governance and Management
Governance is the system or process by which organisations are directed, controlled and held accountable to ensure that the right decisions are made. Our education and care service recognises the importance of having a framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within, and by which authority is exercised and controlled in the organisation. We view good governance and management as essential to our provision of quality education and care.
Fees Policy
To enable our Centre to provide high quality early education and care for children we need to ensure we are financially viable at all times. Prompt payment of fees allows us to plan with certainty. We have a commitment to ensuring our fees are as affordable as possible and that all families have access to any subsidies that are available to reduce these fees.
Our Centre’s financial health and access to our Centre will be maximised by:
• ensuring families are aware of all fees and fee payment requirements upon enrolment.
• keeping fee increases to a minimum.
• ensuring the cost of administering fee collection is minimised;
• following the appropriate priority of access requirements.
• following all legal requirements required by our access to government funding.
• managing fee collection to avoid bad debts.
• families are notified as far ahead as possible and no less than 14 days of any changes to fees or the way fees will be collected; and
• ensuring we issue receipts of fees on a regular basis.
Excursions
Our education and care service is committed to providing excursions that are well considered and planned, provide meaningful experiences and ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children at all times.
Environmental Sustainability
As an education and care community, we can encourage and increase awareness of environmental responsibilities and implement practices that contribute to a sustainable future. Children can be supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment. Providing children with time and experiences in nature plays a key part in this, as we feel children need to ‘fall in love’ with nature before they will want to care for and look after it. Environmentally sustainable practices and time in nature should be embedded into the operations of the education and care service and involve educators, children and families in order to be successful.
Enrolment and Orientation
Enrolment and orientation procedures form the foundation for strong relationships between families and early education and care settings and promote a quality experience of education and care for children.
Good procedures include consistent information around service operation and authorisations promoting compliance and a safe and secure environment for children and families.
It is the Centre’s policy to ensure the following goals are met:
Enrolment and orientation processes are planned and implemented;
Due consideration is given to culture and language in undertaking these processes;
Appropriate documentation, including authorisations, are completed during the enrolment and orientation process;
A thoughtful process is planned in consultation with families, to orient a child and family to the Centre.
Dealing with Medical Conditions
This policy acts to ensure that:
Children are supported to feel physically and emotionally well, and feel safe in the knowledge that their wellbeing and individual health care needs will be met when they are not well.
Families can expect that Educators will act in the best interests of the children in their care at all times; meet the children’s individual health care needs; maintain continuity of medication for their children when the need arises.
Educators feel competent to perform their duties; understand their liabilities and duty of care requirements; are provided with sufficient information and training regarding the administration of medication and other appropriate treatments.
Collaboration with families of children with diagnosed medial conditions to develop a Risk Minimisation Plan for their child;
All staff, including casual staff, educators and volunteers, are informed of all children diagnosed with a medical condition and the risk minimisation procedures for these;
All families are provided with current information about identified medical conditions of children enrolled at the service with strategies to support the implementation of the Risk Minimisation Plan;
All children with diagnosed medical conditions have a current Risk Minimisation Plan that is accessible to all staff;
All staff are adequately trained in the administration of emergency medication.
Acceptance and Refusal of Authorisations
Authorisation must be obtained from parent/guardians or authorised nominees in the following circumstances:
administering medication to children (regulation 92)
children leaving the premises in the care of someone other than their parent (regulation 99) other than the case of emergency
children being taken on excursions (regulation 102)
Dealing with Infectious Diseases Policy
Our education and care service is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all children, staff and any other persons attending the service by:
responding to the needs of the child or adult who presents with symptoms of an infectious disease or infestation while attending the service;
complying with current exclusion schedules and guidelines set by the Department of Health; and
providing up-to-date information and resources for families and staff regarding protection of all children from infectious diseases and blood-borne viruses, management of infestations and immunisation programs.
Curriculum, Programming and Progress Policy
The Centre’s curriculum is described as ‘all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned that occur in our environment which are designed to foster children’s learning and development’.
The Centre’s curriculum is guided by The Early Years Learning Framework together with professional knowledge which enables each child’s learning in the five outcomes:
Children have a strong sense of identity
Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children are confident and involved learners
Children are effective communicators
A learning framework is an important tool for helping educators to work with children and their families to achieve the best learning and developmental outcomes for children.
Complaints Handling Policy
Our Education and Care Service affirms that people have a right to question and influence decisions made and services provided. We take complaints seriously and manage them in a confidential, timely, transparent and meaningful way. We achieve this by:
Maintaining the confidentiality of all parties in line with policy and legislative requirements.
Acknowledging that the common goal is to achieve an outcome acceptable to all parties.
Acting in good faith and in a calm and courteous manner.
Showing respect and understanding of each other’s point of view and valuing difference, rather than judging and blaming.
Recognising that all parties have rights and responsibilities which must be balanced.
Handling complaints objectively and in a manner where complainants will not suffer any reprisals as a result of making a complaint.
Administration of First Aid
The First Aid Policy, strategies and practices are designed to support educators to:
Ensure that ill or injured persons are stabilised and comforted until medical help intervenes
Monitor ill or injured persons in the recovery stage
Apply further first aid strategies if the condition does not improve
Ensure that the environment is safe and that other persons are not in danger of becoming ill or injured.
Animals in the Environment Policy
Educators are “encouraged to foster children’s capacity to understand and respect the natural environment and the interdependence between people, plants, animals and the land.” (NQS element 3.2)
Responsible ownership of pets, animals or birds that may reside at the Education and Care Service or visit the premises is vital. Role models of appropriate behaviours with animals and guidance in caring for the needs of animals is beneficial for children. This policy also considers the management of unwanted visitors such as pests and vermin.
Behaviour Guidance Policy
Behavioural guidance policy
The purpose of the centre’s Behaviour Guidance Policy is to:
encourage acceptable forms of behaviour by using strategies that build children’s confidence and self-esteem;
provide children with support, guidance and opportunities to manage their emotions and develop ways to appropriately control their own behaviour; and
promote collaborative approaches to behaviour guidance and support between the centre’s stakeholders and/or external agencies.